eche_bus: 1976 Westfalia Deluxe Camper

[beetlepete]

AND thank you so much for your faucet rebuild. I also ordered the "OEM direct factory replacement" from BD and was very disappointed to see the top not close. They were going to take it back but I kept it hoping to rebuild.

But as always you beat me to it, and thank goodness, my thoughts were far more complicated and I would've just broken both of them.
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Beetlepete
79 Westfalia Deluxe, Mexico Beige

[otiswesty]

My 1981 VW LT28 Westfalia Sven Hedin had almost the exact same stove as my 1978 Westy. The principal difference was a brown stove front plate that included a red Piezo knob. The stove pots were fitted with piezo spark heads. I kept the front plate and wiring for my bus when I sold the LT Westy. The LT stove top was pretty rough and I didn't do much to it before selling it

I ended up drilling and installing new ignitor heads in the bus stove top at the same location. I will try to post a pic of the final set up in the bus later or tomorrow.

I know your bus is pretty stock, but this is a super nice feature for the stove that you may be able to source in Europe if you are interested.

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1978 Sage Green P22 Westfalia
1989 T3 Syncro Single cab

Just a regular guy

[vwwestyman]

Wow, that lighter is a great idea!

I was recently camping and had a difficult time getting the stove to light because the matches I had in the bus were getting old and didn't want to light well.

You wouldn't need euro parts to add this feature (unless you really want the big red knob), it could easily be done with commonly available grill replacement parts at any hardware store. You could have the piezo type, or battery/spark ignition.
_________________
Dave Cook

President, Wild Westerner Club

1978 Champagne Edition Westy, repowered to '97 Jetta TDI
1973 Wild Westerner
My Thing

[eche_bus]

@beetlepete - you make a pretty solid case for lacquer being used on the cabinets. Thanks for sharing your insights!
@otiswesty - it's a little late for me, but that's a nice addition to the stove. It's interesting that it makes use of the big hole on the left for the ignitor pushbutton. I've often wondered what the use of that hole was.

Sink/Stove Cabinet Restoration Part XI: Cover and Miscellaneous

The work on the cover began with cleaning all the old glue residue out of the retaining grooves in the black edge trim. It's a pretty tedious process using a small flat-blade screwdriver and solvent, so I'm real glad there's not much more trim to deal with. After a wipedown with Acetone to polish the scratches out of the trim (it truly works!), I set about cleaning the groove in the cover that retains the trim using a small screwdriver and sandpaper.

With the groundwork finished, my wife and I got out the hotplate and a big pot of water and boiled up the trim until good and limp. Then we marked the proper length on the cement floor with a little masking tape. After stretching the trim to the proper length, we held it at that length until cool so it would retain its shape (straight) and length.

I used the same method for installing the trim as all the other cabinets, which was to mark where the seam should go, and starting from that point, fill the retaining groove with wood glue up to the nearest corner. Then, after pressing the trim into the groove, I wipe off the excess glue and hammer the trim with a deadblow hammer to set it fully down. I then focus on getting the corner glued and installed before moving along the next straight. Once at the last corner, I do a trial fit to see how the length is going to come out (it's easy for the length to change due to shrink OR stretch as the trim is being worked). Excess can be trimmed with a scissors, but if you come up a little short, you'll want to heat the remaining unglued length with a blowdryer and stretch it as needed. It's better to come out a bit long than short, and be sure to distribute your stretching over as long of a length as possible.

From what I've been able to tell, Westfalia started out putting the seam on the end of the cover behind the driver side bulkhead and then later changed it to a more sensible place at the back (nearest the windows) of the cover. When this changed I don't know, but my '76 (and other ones I've seen in photos) have it behind the bulkhead, so I put it back there.

While the glue was drying, I cleaned up and re-installed the black edge bead molding that prevents the cabinet from chafing the driver side bulkhead.

The result. That old battered trim looks like new now

The beauty shot (that's the ORIGINAL sticker you see there, folks. And nope, that stainless panel didn't start out looking like that. It all polished up REAL good

The sink, water jug, and pump plumbing have all been tested for leaks now, and the pump, pump fuse, and switch all wired and tested, so the last utility work remaining was to install the flex line for the propane connection between the floor bulkhead and the stove. I didn't want to re-use the 40 year-old hose and so a long while back found a new replacement. Trouble was, building codes had changed since '76 and so have color codes:

So what did I do? I painted the new line grey and transferred the old paper tag and retaining strap to it. Stapled the retaining strap right back in the original place on the underside of the cabinet, and new is now like old!

The final task left before the cabinet can be installed is to make a new backing board to replace the old water stained one. There's a story to go along with this task, but for now, here's a preview photo:

Will be back in several days to show more. Thanks for sticking with me on such a tedious project!

[Hoody]

Absolutely amazing work Jon! Your level of attention to detail is incredible! You have been a huge inspiration for me as I am restoring my Westy interior. Keep up the great work! Your getting close!

[notchboy]

I know right. I want to send you my stuff for a spa weekend
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[eche_bus]

@Hoody, notchboy - thank you for your continued support. I wish this stuff wasn't so time consuming, as I'd enjoy helping others raise the bar a little on this detail stuff.

Sink/Stove Cabinet Restoration Part XII: The Backboard "Experience"

Where we left off last, I showed a photo of a new backboard all ready for cutting. What I didn't mention was that I had to carry that 4x4 sheet of material on my head for a quarter mile or so to get there.

Did you catch that

It turns out that a sheet of that size cannot fit inside either of our cars. No way, no how. And neither is equipped to carry stuff on its roof. The bus wasn't yet ready to drive, and the one place in town that carried the light-colored stuff wasn't equipped to cut it down. Fortunately this place is near enough that I decided to hoist it on my head and walk the thing home. I guess when you're old enough, you just don't care any more how foolish you look to "get 'er done".

Weeks went by, and after cutting the sheet down to proper size and cutting out the big opening, I was hit with the realization I'd put the smooth side down, which put the opening in the wrong place for the smooth side to face inside the cabinet. There was a long silence in the garage as I pondered the consequences of the mistake. You see, a 4x4 sheet only makes a single Westy cabinet backboard. I sure didn't come this far to get it wrong, but I didn't have a 2nd sheet to get it right.

So later that day I walked to the store and right over to the bin where I'd picked up the sheet before. The bin was now EMPTY. They didn't know when more would come in.

Over the next week I got the Westy ready to drive. Yes, the bus is now driveable after a long hiatus. With the unpleasant sheet-carrying experience behind me, I wasn't going for a repeat. The MDF came in, we drove over, loaded it into the bus, and drove it home.

All that to show you this. Hope you're happy (just kidding!)

Stapled the bugger in place with my new fancy pneumatic stapler. Used super-skinny and long staples just like original. Man does that thing work slick!

Here's the front view with the new backboard in place. Looks just like the original one from this side, but without the nasty stains!
READY TO INSTALL!

[Wasted youth]

Amazing, super clean detail... as always!

That was a helluva sheet-carrying anecdote!

I'm going to quote this, because I know the feeling:

[eche_bus]

Thanks, WastedYouth, yeah, you don't have to work on these things long to have those kind of silent (or not so silent @$&%#) experiences, eh?

Sink/Stove Cabinet Restoration Part XIII: INSTALLATION !!!
It's only fitting this is part 13 of the sink/stove series. How in the heck did this take so long??? Must be cursed. I know I've cursed at it.

The garage door rolled up and the bus rolled out into the driveway.
The cabinet was carried out, squinting in the harsh light of day. It hadn't seen the sun in nearly 2 years.
Finally, it lay in rest like the Ark of the Covenant, returned to its rightful home.
There was much rejoicing.

We learned the hard way that the cabinet must be tipped up at the back in order for the sink pipe to be installed through both the bottom and wall holes. You can get the pipe through the bottom hole with the cabinet flat, but not the wall hole. Also, we used a big sheet of craft paper to protect the left side laminate from getting scratched by the fridge cabinet during installation.

It was very satisfying to finally get to bolt the cabinet in place. With the two bolts in the area below the water tank nice and tight, I secured the cabinet it to the bulkhead.

Table arm in place, water pump and drain cover installed, spare tire door bottom retainer in place.

With everything secured inside, I could finally install my restored P-trap cover and its special gasket. I was amazed at how well that OG cover gasket cleaned up using Acetone and plastic polish! That's a new OEM City Water inlet assembly (and gasket) you see below. There are no longer two big holes in the side of our bus!

There were only two more holes to seal up to complete the installation - the water tank and sink drains. Figuring out how to seal the sink drain was a major challenge. The deteriorated remains of the OG seal were a hint, but just barely.

I knew open cell foam wasn't the right stuff to use, as having a wet sponge against the floor pan would be perfect to rot it. I had some closed cell neoprene on hand, but ran into a lot of trouble with the thickness as there is a large "boss" that sits beneath the cover plate which is at least 1/4" tall, and the Westfalia "design" er hack only uses 3 screws to hold the plate down. Making a gasket that was thick enough to compress and accommodate the thick boss was a multi-prototype frustration involving tracing paper and carving my gasket down in the area over the boss. Finally, I added a 4th screw just to get that corner to sit down against the floor and compress the gasket. If anyone reading this has made a seal for this area, please share your experience!

Anyways, here's the end result. Not any kind of beauty, but better than the old deteriorated stuff. The pipe retaining ring and drain cap were all stained from undercoating overspray, and this is the best they cleaned up. I'm not worried how they look as the undercarriage on this meant-to-be-driven camper is not restored, but will look for a replacement for the cap that doesn't have a hole in the middle and has a strap to keep from losing it. Any recommendations for a cap with a retaining strap that is known to fit the original pipe threads?

Oh yeah, the drain hose plate was given a new Neoprene seal, same size/thickness as OG, and the Propane bulkhead has a new rubber gasket and retaining nut. All that remains here is to install a new hose from here to the Propane tank.

WHEW!

[notchboy]

I had to remove my interior on the 77 to get the BN4 installed - I also need to reskin the wall panels in the bus as well to match the cabinets. So Ill get to the sink drain and ice box drain while doing this other stuff.

Then Ill have a done interior for the moment. A couple of panels on mine also had not been glued right or well enough - making for some redo's.
_________________

[eche_bus]

[RONIN10]

[otiswesty]

[eche_bus]

Thanks to all that made suggestions for the sink drain plate seal. Perhaps this will give others a few ideas as they tackle that project.

Sink/Stove Cabinet Restoration Part XIV: Propane, Shelves, and a Home For a Spare

Checking for leaks
Although I made darn sure there were no leaks with the faucet and the pump worked properly before installing the cabinet, there remained the task of checking that the sink drain plumbing would keep water inside properly. I was eager to install the shelves and plumbing cover, but this was no time for instant gratification in hopes luck was with me.

Good thing, too. It wasn't. After blocking the drain outlet under the bus, hooking up the hose to the outside inlet, and filling the sink with water, the P-trap began leaking at the junctions. Tightening didn't help. Had to take the darn thing all apart and start deburring things, finally painting the threads with teflon sealer and cajoling the whole works back together. I don't know about anyone else's pipes but this one is a real force-fit into the space provided. It paid off though - not a drop would seep out.

So on to the propane lines. When I overhauled the propane tank assembly, I'd replaced all the old valves and fittings with new stuff which runs slightly longer than the original parts. This, and not wanting to risk using a 40-yr. old hose that's been running under the bus for 150K mi., meant that I had to get a new, custom-length hose made to connect the tank to the bulkhead. Fortunately, a propane dealer not far away was able to both pressure-test my propane tank assembly AND make a nice new hose. I picked up a little bottle of leak-check stuff, tightened all the hoses and line fittings, got the tank filled, and opened the tank valve. NO LEAKS!

To celebrate, we lit a fire. It's alive!

Plumbing cover and Shelves
With those obstacles out of the way, I eagerly set the cover and shelves in place and hammered in the little brown shelf retainers. Nice to have an easy job for a change!

You might have noticed the black cabinet cover hold-down strap and how the snap button is offset from the center. It's not damaged; that's just how Westfalia made it.

Spare Tire
We're overdue for getting the face put back on this baby. First step: spare tire cover.

Way back when I first started the project, I showed you how I'd sanded off the old worn-out woodgrain "decal" that Westfalia used for the sides.

In its place, I glued OG laminate, which of course has the same woodgrain pattern and color. Looks the same and works great! I replaced the face laminate as that was all shot, gave it the usual polish and wax treatment and then straightened, polished, and re-installed the black trim. You've seen the process many times before, so instead I present the finished result:

Onward.

When I insulated the wall, I noticed that Westfalia left the wall behind the spare completely uninsulated, so I fixed that. Before putting the tire in place, I taped the gaps between the sheets with a little gaffers tape. Don't worry, the side, top, and bottom are all left unsealed.

The rim that has sat tireless for the last 3 years now has a proper tire.

In she goes, back in a proper home!

Ah, looks so much better already! The cover with its new laminate sides fits just fine!

Decals?
Uh, oh ... Soapbox Time
You know, it would have been great to put the "CAMPMOBILE" and Westfalia decals back on that tire cover. Yeah ... except that those decals that I've had sitting on a shelf for 2 years now, awaiting this moment ... are WRONG. The OG CAMPMOBILE sticker is on a SHINY silver background, not matte. The Westfalia sticker I was sold is not only the wrong shades of blue and red, but is not even the same height and width as the original!

I've found that EVERY SINGLE ONE of the decals sold for the interior of these late Westys are wrong. Mis-translations, wrong fonts, wrong spacings, wrong colors, wrong background, etc. etc.

What spins me out is this: they're just f'ing stickers. You can't even get the simple things right? ARGH

I will.

[mark krauter]

I am truly inspired to get all the rat hotel remnants out of my bus! I still have a lot to clean on the cabinets but just getting the back area clean is such an improvement. Lots of surface rust to take care of too. Thanks for your attention to detail and instructions!

[mark d]

"On to polishing
This laminate is real tough stuff, but 40 years of use and sun can really take its toll. Polishing, using some of the same compounds and a D/A polisher you'd use to polish out paint can accomplish some amazing things. I follow up with a coat or two of furniture paste wax to really finish the job."

Big fan. have read your whole thread. would you do me a big favor and give me the details on what you used to polish your laminate. i badly need to do this

thks
_________________
1972ish westfalia

"what good are tractors without violins ?" jose figueres

[eche_bus]

[eche_bus]

[mark d]

thks so much for the very detailed explanation. i did not remeber reading your previous post on the subject.

look fwd to the launching
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1972ish westfalia

"what good are tractors without violins ?" jose figueres

[eche_bus]

Sink/Stove Cabinet Restoration Part XV: Drawers

I find it much easier to have patience with restoration work where I "just know" its going to take a lot of time. When I think something will be easy and not take much time, somehow patience takes a backseat when things don't co-operate so well.

A couple of drawers. The big one needed a new laminate face and to fix a crack in the underlying plywood. The small one had cracked plastic and joints that had come loose. Both needed lots of cleaning, and the handles looked pretty chewed up. Should be no big deal.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Took over a week off and on. Everything seemed to need some kind of special treatment. @#&@&$% drawers. They wouldn't heed my threats or encouragement.

No solvents, bleaches, or otherwise would get the outer plastic frames to go back to all white. I wasn't about to spray paint plastic that would be exposed to wear, so finally said "good 'nuff". They are.

They are done. It is time for dance.

Two doors to go ... and then ... NO MORE LAMINATE WORK!!!! (and you don't see any more stupid cabinet photos)